Stats on the Toronto Blue Jays' hot postseason start

Donaldson, the reigning AL MVP, led off the 10th with a double into the right-center field gap, and then Matt Bush intentionally walked Edwin Encarnacion.

A home run bat flip ended the Texas Rangers season last year at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays, this year it was their own throwing error that sent them home at the hands of the same team.

Donaldson has been nursing a sore hip, among other knocks, but made like Usain Bolt around the bases before flinging himself headfirst at the plate.

"It's been how we've won this year, it's been a grind every step of the way", Shapiro said Sunday night as Jays celebrated with faux champagne and Bud Lite. It was dismissed but it kept everyone waiting. "You're kind of just waiting". Celebrate, we think we won, and then they challenge the play and you're like: 'Oh gosh, let's not have a technicality kind of ruin this moment for us right here.' And it didn't, gratefully.

They now await the conclusion of the Indians and Red Sox series and will travel to the winner's park for Game 1 of the ALCS. But the Jays were equally determined. Here's what they had to say after Toronto's sweep of the Rangers.

Perhaps it was fitting that Donaldson and Martin lit the 10th-inning fuse.

"That game-ending play, that's not a normal big league type of ending to a game", Toronto manager John Gibbons said.

Mark Shapiro, the Toronto Blue Jays president and chief executive officer, said the play unfolded before his eyes like it was in slow motion.

"I threw a little bit to the side. Mitch reached down to try to keep it in play, got away from him a little bit and was unable to recover and make a throw to home plate".

In 2015, Toronto rallied from an 0-2 deficit to win the ALDS in five, with Bautista's dramatic three-homer the coup de grace. Then Odor displayed his rebuttal with a two-run jack off Sanchez. Toronto fans will take no small satisfaction in that, given Odor has been the Hatfield to Bautista's McCoy after slugging the Toronto outfielder with a right hook to the face in May after taking umbrage at a hard slide.

Encarnacion and Martin homered for Toronto. For him to come in two games out of the series and give us multiple innings - he's a warrior, he's unbelievable. A fan threw a can of beer on the field during the wild-card game against the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. His appearance capped 41/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball by Toronto's bullpen after starter Aaron Sanchez allowed six runs. His 92-pitch outing that featured 53 strikes.

Alex Claudio took over for Texas in the bottom of the fourth and was removed for Jeffress after allowing a one-out single to Donaldson in the fifth inning. "I'm just as disappointed as anyone in that clubhouse".

"He couldn't get in a rhythm and get his pitches going", Banister said. Carlos Gomez led off with a walk, stole second, took third when Ian Desmond grounded out to the catcher and scored when Carlos Beltran grounded out to the pitcher. Jose Bautista worked a full count, but whiffed on a high, 98-mph fastball for the inning's first out.

The Jays answered quickly.

Right-hander Tony Barnette replaced Lewis and gave up an RBI single to put Toronto ahead 5-2.Odor hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 5-4.

A baseball game, whether on April 9 or October 9, ultimately is won by the team that makes the fewest mistakes, said catcher Jonathan Lucroy. Trouble was, both of those were homers allowing the Rangers to stay in it and he wasn't in the best command he's ever had. The two home runs on Sunday at a raucous Rogers Centre upped the Jays number to eight home runs in four post-season games. Ezequiel Carrera, Kevin Pillar, Troy Tulowitzski, Melvin Upton Jr. and Martin have also gone deep. Reliever Keone Kela, the third pitcher used in the inning, induced Darwin Barney to pop up in foul territory but Tulowitzki scored on a pass ball to tie it at 6-6. "This is something I'm not going to forget". The Jays hit.563 (9 for 16) with runners in scoring position in the first two games of the series. They were 2-for-7 Sunday night.

The Rangers went into the series with the best record in the American League, bolstered by Trade Deadline additions that improved an already potent lineup, with Cole Hamels and Yu Darvish fronting their rotation, and a bullpen that helped the team to a 36-11 record in one-run games. Martin made it seven Sunday. Twelve of Toronto's 22 runs in the series came via the long ball.

With the rainout, the Red Sox could come back to 22-game victor Rick Porcello in Game 4 on the usual four days of rest.